Flavors of Love
by Little Miss Thinker
Summary: Adrien Agreste hates the smell, taste, and sight of cinnamon...so when he smells it on his partner during patrol one night, he can't help but want to figure out why she smells that way. Fall (Semi) Reveal Piece It'll give you the warm cozy feels!


**Disclaimer** : I do not own Miraculous!

 **Author's Note (A/N):** This is from the Miraculous Amino – September Event Team! I wrote this for the #FallFlavors event!

 **Summary** : Adrien Agreste hates the smell, taste, and sight of cinnamon...so when he smells it on his partner during patrol one night, he can't help but want to figure out why she smells that way.

 **Flavors of Love**

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Growing up for as long as Adrien could remember, cinnamon was his favorite flavor.

Not only did cinnamon taste good, since cinnamon added to anything made everything taste good, it was also his flavor of home; his flavor of love.

His mother had a knack for adding cinnamon to everything she cooked, and somehow just by that little ingredient, she made her dishes taste a thousand times better. Adrien always loved waking up and breathing in the warm, sweet aura that always seemed to emanate from his mother. Cinnamon became her scent, and she was his home.

When she disappeared from his life however, the flavor of cinnamon disappeared as well. It was as if his Father just could not stand the sight, scent, or taste of it anymore. And as years went by, Adrien grew to dislike everything about it as well.

 _Because to lose the flavor you once called home makes it even harder to remember why it smelt like home in the first place._

That is why on this particular November night, Chat Noir couldn't help himself but grimace at the infamous scent permeating from his partner next to him. He sniffed the air to make sure. Yup, it was definitely that.

"M'lady," he started, scrunching his nose slightly as he turned to his partner. "Is it just me or do you smell...different tonight?" He tried his best not to sound rude, but his distaste for the scent seeped through his speech nonetheless.

Ladybug's eyebrows rose slightly at his tone before she slowly lifted her arm to smell herself. "Umm, no? I don't think I do." She tilted her head towards him. "Why?"

He ignored her question and leaned closer to sniff her once more. She instantly pulled away and pushed her arm out in front of her. "Woah, Kitty. What are you doing?"

"You smell different tonight," he responded, narrowing his bright green eyes. "I don't like it."

"Different?" Ladybug sniffed herself once more. "D-Do I smell weird?" She asked, feeling a sudden rush of self consciousness as a slight flush of red grew on her cheeks.

Chat noticed his partner's expression and he instantly shook his head, feeling guilty for even bringing this conversation up. "Oh, please don't take this the wrong way, M'lady."

"How am I supposed to take it?" Ladybug muttered, hugging her arms across her chest. She stared at him. "What do I even smell like then?"

He didn't know whether to admit the truth, but as he stared into his lady's anxious bluebell eyes, he let out a soft sigh. "You smell like...cinnamon," he whispered. Finally saying it out loud made this entire conversation feel silly. But Chat Noir couldn't help how he felt, especially when it came to that scent.

Ladybug blinked twice. "You," she paused, making sure she heard him correctly. "Don't like the smell of cinnamon?" She asked, raising a brow.

"Not particularly."

"Why?"

Chat made a frown as he debated his response. "My fath-family tends to," he hesitated, tilting his head in thought. "Stay away from that flavor."

"Oh?" Ladybug responded, her eyes widening ever so slightly. "Why is that?"

Chat Noir felt his mouth curve down into a grimace. "Let's just say cinnamon used to be a flavor that made me feel at home." He sighed as he looked out into the night sky. "Now it just makes me feel like...nothing. Nothing at all."

Ladybug's expression dropped as she gave her partner a sad smile. She always knew Chat Noir's home life wasn't the best. But to have gotten rid of the scent and flavor of cinnamon? "I-I'm sorry, Chat. I didn't realize. I would have showered before patrol if I knew."

"N-no. It's alright, M'lady." Chat sighed, slowly plopping himself onto the ground. He turned to her and gave a small smile. "Why do you smell like that anyway?

Ladybug's cheeks flushed a light pink, taking a seat next to him but making sure to sit downwind of him so he wouldn't smell her as much. "My class is doing a potluck sort of event tomorrow so I was busy baking an apple crumble pie before patrol. I was using cinnamon and I guess I didn't realize the scent would stick to my clothing even after I transformed."

Chat rose his brows. "Oh? My class is also throwing a potluck tomorrow too."

Ladybug rose her brows as well before pursing her lips. "It is that time of the season," she concluded.

"Yeah, I guess it is…" He responded, his voice trailing off.

As Ladybug stared at her feline partner, she couldn't help the pang in her heart from seeing the somber look that spread on her Kitty's face. She bit her lip. "I really am sorry, Chaton. Next time, I'll make sure to take a shower before patrols."

"It's not your fault, M'Lady," he sighed. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air once more. "If I'm being honest, it's oddly calming, you know? To smell it again." To smell it on you, he wanted to add. But kept the thought to himself.

"Really?"

"Yeah." He said, turning to her with his chat-like smile.

Ladybug broke into a grin. "Well then, I'm not sorry anymore," she giggled, before placing a hand on her partner's shoulder. "I wish you did like cinnamon though. It was a secret ingredient you know? I infused the cinnamon into the dough as well as doubled the flavoring in the crumble."

Chat smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood. "Sounds amazing. Do you like to bake?"

"I love it," Ladybug smiled, winking in his direction. "I'm pretty good at it too if I do say so myself."

"Oh?" Chat purred. "A lady that can bake and kick butt? Did I mention how much I want to marry you in the future?"

"Oh shush you, Silly Kitty." Ladybug laughed, nudging her partner in his shoulder. "Maybe one day, if you're good, I'll bring you some of my creations during patrol."

"Please do, M'lady."

The two heroes chuckled together in content as they continued to stare out onto Paris. Chat Noir took a glance at his partner. He didn't know how or when or even why. But as his eyes trailed down along her face, he suddenly felt an unknown urge to want to smell her once again. Properly this time.

"H-hey Ladybug?"

"Hmm?"

"I know this is weird but i-is it alright if I smell you again?"

Ladybug's lip curved into a small smile and reached over to wrap her arms around him. He immediately nuzzled his face into her neck, breathing in her warm, sweet scent. "It's never weird, Chaton. I'll always be here for you, alright?"

 _Home. That's what she smelt like._

 _Cinnamon might just be his new favorite flavor once more._

Ladybug giggled softly, feeling the nod of her partner's head against her neck. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his messy blond hair. She breathed in.

 _Peppermint. That's what he smelt like._

 _Peppermint might just be her new favorite flavor._

Marinette frantically ran through her bedroom, throwing articles of clothing around her as she struggled to find the blazer she always wore to school. She groaned in frustration, looking over to her kwami in a panic.

"Oh God, Tikki! I'm going to be late for the potluck!"

"Well, if you didn't stay up that late with Chat Noir last night, you might've woken up earlier," Tikki teased, giggling softly as she looked down at her chosen.

Marinette stopped rummaging through her closet and gave a glare to her red kwami. "Not funny, Tikki. You know I'm worried about him and his home life," she sighed and brushed her fingers through her hair to tie them into her usual pigtails. "Chat may seem like just a flirty kitty, but there's something more to him that he doesn't want to tell me or anyone really..." Marinette's voice trailed off as she stared absentmindedly into the distance, twirling the ends of her hair in deep thought.

Tikki nodded her head in agreement before glancing back at her chosen's clock. Her large blue eyes widened. "Well, now's not the time to worry, Marinette! You have five minutes before the potluck starts, and you still have to warm up your apple crumble pie!"

"Ahh!" Marinette yelped and quickly looked once more around her room. Her eyes brightened when she noticed her blazer trapped underneath her chaise. She quickly threw it on and grabbed her purse, allowing Tikki to quickly fly in before rushing downstairs to the bakery.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she immediately came face to face with a large pink pie box and her Papa smiling brightly down at her.

"Mari! We had a feeling you were going to wake up late today, so we warmed up your pie for you this morning."

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief before reaching on her tippy toes and kissing her papa on the cheek. "You are a lifesaver, Papa!"

He smiled before carefully handing her the wrapped boxed. "It's all cut and prepared for your classmates. They'll love it," he winked. "Took a bit of a bite myself and it tastes wonderful, Mari! Better than I could have ever made it. You did a great job!"

"Thanks, Papa!" She grinned, taking the box from his hands. She went over to the register and kissed her mom on the cheek.

"Be careful on your way out, Marinette! Do not drop that pie!"

"Of course, Mama! Bye, love you!"

"We love you too!"

Marinette quickly, but carefully ran her way across the street, swiftly stepping up the stairs to her homeroom class. She relied solely on the fact that she was Ladybug, and she could definitely handle carrying a box of pie without falling. By the time she reached her classroom, she could already hear the loud conversations of her classmates from down the hall.

She took a deep breath to collect her frazzled self before opening the door.

"Finally you made it girl!"

Marinette's mouth instantly watered at the delicious sight that greeted her. Mountains of delectable food filled the front two tables of the classroom, and Marinette couldn't tell where to even begin. From simple appetizers like baked brie, canapé, and varieties of different brochette, to savory dishes like quiche, duck confit, and ratatouille, Marinette couldn't help but smile widely at the delicious flavors wafting through the entire classroom.

She turned her head to Alya who was already holding a plate full of food. "Sorry, I woke up late!"

Alya shook her head with a smile. "We figured. But come on, grab a plate! All this food isn't going to eat itself!"

Loud cheers ran through the room as Marinette giggled to herself, watching as her classmates conversed happily with each other, their mouths full and their hearts content.

"We already started eating obviously. But we've all been waiting on the famous Dupain-Cheng dessert!" Alix spoke up, swinging a cup of cider in her hand as she turned towards Marinette.

A chorus of agreements flew through the air, and Marinette felt her face blush.

"Oh Mari! I've been looking forward to your dad's baking since I woke up this morning!" Rose chimed in, taking a bite from what looked to be a freshly baked brioche à tête.

"O-oh! U-uh, actually," Marinette's cheeks reddened, her hands tightening around the pink pie box. "I decided to bake the dessert myself this year!"

"Wow really, Marinette? That's amazing!"

She turned her head and she swore her heart just about stopped as Adrien walked towards her. When he was in front of her, he held out his hand. She eagerly placed her hand in his and Adrien let out a small chuckle.

"I was going to help you with your dessert actually."

Marinette's body instantly turned to flames as she quickly withdrew her hand from his and shoved her pie box in its place. She looked down in embarrassment, not daring to see his reaction. "Y-yeah! S-Sorry. I knew that…"

She heard him chuckle once more before she felt his strong arms push her in the direction of the food. "It's alright, Marinette," he placed her pink box on an empty section of the table and he peered eagerly down at it. "So what'd you bake for us?"

Still feeling embarrassed by her blunder a few moments ago as well as his close proximity to her now, Marinette could only stutter the word, pie.

Adrien's mouth broke into a grin. He always did adore this cute behavior his friend always had around him. He knelt down to take a whiff, and his eyes instantly widened at the smell.

"Cinnamon..." Adrien whispered, staring straight down at her dessert.

"I-I'm sorry, what was that?" Marinette asked, pushing her hair shyly behind her ear.

Adrien blinked slowly before shaking his head, giving Marinette a small smile. "I-It's nothing," he replied, scratching the back of his neck. "W-What kind of pie did you end up making exactly?"

Marinette took a deep breath as she reached down and opened up the pink box to stare at her creation. She missed Adrien's eyes widening. "Just an apple crumble pie. I-I'm kind of scared for everyone to taste it actually. I tweaked my papa's recipe a bit and added in more cinnamon than usual into the crumble and the filling. I had things to do last night so I didn't even have time to taste it before coming to class today. Papa said it tasted good, but you can never trust what your parents tell you. I-It probably isn't good at all. I really should have tast—"

Marinette felt a warm hand on her shoulder and she instantly stopped her rambling to look up. Adrien's light green eyes were staring down at her and she could've sworn they were glistening.

"Mari," he interrupted. "You're an amazing baker. You're amazing in anything really. I'm sure it'll taste great."

Marinette felt her body heat up as Adrien's eyes continued to roam her face as if he was looking at her for the first time. Her cheeks flushed. "I-Is there something on my face?"

Adrien blinked twice before his lips curved into a grin. "No. You just reminded me of someone is all." As he picked up a piece of her pie and bit into it, Adrien couldn't help but moan in pleasure at the flavor, he so long forgotten. After swallowing his first bite, he looked down at his lady.

 _Home._

He smiled wistfully to himself before bending down, whispering softly into Marinette's ear. "Cinnamon is my favorite flavor by the way. And it really does taste wonderful, Marinette." When he pulled back, he winked at her before walking back to talk with Nino.

If it wasn't for the fact that Marinette lost all train of thought in that very moment, she might have noticed he smelt strangely of peppermints.


End file.
